As is known in the art, a PCB embodies an electrical circuit which includes electrical components. In addition to functional characteristics of the circuit, operational characteristics, such as form factor, heat dissipation, track sizes and weights, must adequately be considered for the circuit contained in the PCB. For example, for a power converter PCB, power conversion components in the circuit generate significant amounts of heat, which must be properly dissipated. Also, the electrical tracks in the PCB for the circuit must be large enough to handle the high currents flowing therethrough.
Many PCBs utilize surface mount component technologies. These relatively small components generally have fine track widths on an exposed surface of a PCB. However, in order to obtain fine track widths, a relatively thin layer of copper must be used on the surface of the PCB. Generally, a thin layer of copper will not have the heat dissipation nor the current carrying capabilities of a thicker layer of copper. As well, as assemblies of electronic components become more complex, resort must be had to an increasingly greater number of substrate layers in a typical PCB. In many instances, conductive layers within such multilayer PCBs are thinner than their counterparts in PCBs which contain fewer layers.
All of the foregoing creates challenges and constraints for size reduction, heat dissipation and current carrying capability in the design and manufacture of assemblies of electronic components. There is therefore a need for an assembly that can carry relatively high electrical currents, that can dissipate heat for components mounted onto a PCB and that can be presented in a relatively compact size as compared to the existing art.